423 Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise

A great hymnologist, Erik Routley called this a wonderfully plump hymn full of polysyllabic attempts to describe an indescribable God. The hymns was actually inspired by the apostle Paul's words to young Timothy:  "now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever." (1 Timothy 1:17, KJV) 

Walter Chalmers Smith, the author of the text,was a pastor in the Free Church of Scotland from 1850-1894. This is yet another case of this being the only hymn was have ascribed to someone who in his lifetime was responsible for many others.

In 20th and 21st century Christianity, there has been much emphasis and the relational side of God.  We have lost some of the "awe-fullness" of god. i.e. He is full of awe and worthy to be praised and worshiped.  We need to catch glimpses of God's incredible character and in these wonderful stanzas, we who "wither and perish" come face-to-face with our immortal, invisible unchanging God. The good news is that this almost indescribable God is willing to have a relationship with us and He loves us dearly. 

The hymn tune we use with this text is the Welsh hymn, St. Denio. This tune originally appeared in the Welsh hymnal, Caniadau y Cyssegr in 1839.  The version we usually use now was arranged by John Roberts in the English Hymnal, 1906. 

We Give Thee But Thine Own

At Church of Our Saviour we are spending 6 weeks discussing money....the good and bad sides as well as giving, spending, and earning it.  The choir has been singing this hymn every week in preparation for the congregation to sing it on February 23 and March 2. 

The text for this hymn was written by William Walsham How in the mid-19th century.  It is a wonderful treatise about stewardship.  The basic premise is that all of our money, our resources, our time, and our talents all belong to God.  He has given them to us with the understanding that we are to praise him and to give back to him.

How was a great believer in this as evidenced by his life. He had worked faithfully as a pastor at an Anglican Church for 25 years in the farming village of Whittington . During his tenure there, he was offered on more than one occasion advancements and opportunities to serve as a bishop in South Africa, New Zealand, and Jamaica.  He was also not a scholar so many assumed he just lacked ambition.  This belief could not be further from the truth and when the chance came to serve in London's impoverished East End, he took it immediately.

He then became known as the poor man's bishop. He rode public buses rather than private coches as one would guess would accompany his position. He spent much of his time raising funds to alleviate the poverty around him. His ambition was "not to be remembered but to be helpful." He was eventually called "a most unselfish man, with a tender fondness for children." Not a bad way to be remembered.   The last verse sums up his beliefs as he wrote "Whate'er for Thine we do, O Lord/ We do it untoThee."  

The Church's One Foundation #525

This hymn is a perennial favorite of the church.  The history of the writing of this hymn is especially significant today as it was written on the occasion of extended turmoil within the Church of England (Anglican) in 1866 by Samuel Stone.  An Anglican leader by the name of Bishop Gray was in vehement opposition to writings he considered heretical by John Colenso.

It was during this crisis within the Church of England that Samuel Stone wrote a collection of hymns, Lyra Fidelium. (Lyra [or song] of the faithful). The collection contained 12 hymns based on the Apostle's Creed. This particular hymn was based on the Ninth Article of the Creed which reads, "The Holy Catholic (Universal) Church; the Communion of Saints:  He is the Head of This Body." It was Stone's conviction that the unity of the Church must rest solely with a recognition of the Lordship of Christ as its head and not on the views and interpretations of men.

Stone became widely known and appreciated as a prolific writer of hymns. In 1868 this hymn was used as part of the Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops.  This hymn is the only selection that survives in hymnals today.

In addition to his renown as a writer, he was also known as the poor man's pastor.  He spent a lot of time ministering to the poor and underprivileged population in East London. He was known as a man of spotless character and although he fought valiantly for the needy and remained a defender of the conservative faith that was being attacked in his hometown. He had a personal faith in the inspired Scriptures and stood up for those beliefs in words and actions.

Samuel Wesley was the composer of this music.  Samuel, the grandson of the great Charles Wesley, was recognized as one of the leading church musicians of his day. He received his Doctorate in Music from Oxford University when just 29. In addition to many original hymn tunes, he composed a large body of church service music. It was at the 1868 Lambeth Conference that the tune we use now, Aurelia, first appeared together.

657 Love Divine All Loves Excelling

The words for this hymn were written by one of the most prolific author of hymn texts in the English language, Charles Wesley.  Charles was the author of no less than 6,00 hymns.  As such, it would seem that he never made it out of his study.  However, for most of his life, he was actually a traveling preacher--traveling on horseback, that is.  He scribbled hymn texts in shorthand and kept them on small cards he carried in his pocket. When he arrived at the inn where he was spending the night, he would rush in, ask for pen and ink, and he wrote the hymns he had composed during the day's travels.

At one point after a horse had thrown him, he wrote in his journal, "My companion thought I had broken my neck; but my leg was only bruised, my hand sprained, and my head stunned, which spoiled my making hymns till the next day."

Even though Charles had been a classical scholar at Oxford, his hymn texts revealed no allusions to the classics.  This particular text follows the meter of John Dryden's "King Arthur" but between Charles and Samuel Wesley, they have bequeathed to us many great hymn tunes and texts.

In today's hymnals, this text is set to two different tunes:  Beecher written by John Zundel and to Hyfrydol written by the Welsh composer, Rowland Hugh Prichard. In England, this hymn text is also sung to the tune, Blaenwern.  This combination was used at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

In looking for an appropriate YouTube video, I was overwhelmed by the choices of settings of Hyfrydol including: a beautiful vocal solo arrangement sung by Katherine Jenkins.  There were also several organ soloists as well as organ-accompanied congregational singing.  There was also an amazing trumpet and piano duet by Masanz and Maketru.  There was an arrangement on small bagpipes played by a fellow named Piper Steven.  There are arrangements for hammered dulcimer, for classical guitar by Jeffry Teeler and a piano and violin duet by Duncan/Cummings. There was a six chime English tower bells at Marton, England,.  There were handbells and solo harp arrangements.  That comprised two pages of 7 pages of arrangements. This is an arrangement recorded in the National Cathedral in Washington, DC

The one I ultimately love the best is an arrangement of the Welsh tune, Blaenwern sung by the Wells Cathedral Choir.  Turn up the volume, enjoy it and allow the voices of the men and boys' choir wash over you.

450 All Hail the Power of Jesus Name

This hymn is often called "The National Anthem of Christendom." The hymn first appeared in 1779  in an issue of the Gospel Magazine, edited by Augustus Toplady (who authored "Rock of Ages").  This text, written by Edward Perronet, has been translated into almost every language.  Perronet was a descendant of a distinguished French Hugenot family who had fled to Switzerland and subsequently to england because of religious persecution in France. Edwards was sympathetic to the evangelical movement of the Wesleys and George Whitefield in the 1740s and 1750s.

Though Perronet wrote many other hymns and other forms of poetry, most of which he published anonymously, this is the only work that remains. The success of the text was certainly augmented through two fine hymns: in America "Coronation" and in England "Miles Lane."

	Oliver Holden, 1765-1844, the composer,  was one of the pioneers of American psalmody, was born in 1765, and was brought up as a carpenter. Subsequently he became a teacher and music-seller. He died at Charlestown, Massachusetts, 1844. His published works are American Harmony, 1793; the Worcester Collection, 1797; and other Tune books. One of his most popular tunes is "Coronation." It is thought that he edited a small hymn-book, published at Boston before 1808, in which are 21 of his hymns with the signature "H."
	This musical version is from a 1958 crusade.

 

Many interesting stories have been associated with this text. One of the more remarkable stories surrounds E.P. Scott. a missionary to India.  He saw an unusual-looking tribesman on the street, and he asked where the man came from.  He was told that the man was from a mountain tribe and came only once a year to the major city to trade.  The missionary discovered that the gospel had never been taken to that tribe.

After praying about it, Scott packed up his bags and his violin and started moving towards the mountain village.  When Scott told other missionaries about his decision, they told him, "We will never see you again.  It is madness for you to go."  He went anyway and after two days of traveling, he found himself in the mountains.  Suddenly he was surrounded by spear-carrying tribesmen, and every spear was pointed at him.

Not knowing what else to do, Scott got out his violin, closed his eyes and started playing and singing "All Hail the Power of Jesus Name," including the verse, "Let ev'ry kindred, ev'ry tribe/On this terrestrial ball,/To Him all majesty ascribe,/And crown Him Lord of all,/And crown Him Lord of all."   When he opened his eyes, he realized all the tribesmen had not only put their spears down, but they had tears in their eyes.  Scott remained in the village and ministered to the villagers for the next two-and-a-half years telling them about Jesus and His love for them.  When Scott had to leave them because of his health, the tribes-people escorted him 40 miles to where he was able to get transportation out of the area.

561 Stand Up Stand Up for Jesus

It was the year 1854 and 29 year old Dudley Tyng, who had served as his father's assistant at the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, in Philadelphia, was appointed as the new pastor.  He became known as a bold, fearless and uncompromising preacher.  The relationship became more tense as he began preaching on a regular basis against slavery.  He was removed from his post in 1856 after which he and his followers organized the Church of the Covenant.  He began preaching at a noon day Bible series at the local YMCA.

On Tuesday, March 30, 1858, 5,000 men gathered for the regular preaching and by the end of it, more than 1,000 men had been converted.  During that sermon, said to be one of the greatest of its time, Tyng said "I must tell my Master's errand and I would rather that this right arm were amputated at the trunk  than that I should come short of my duty to you in delivering God's message."  Ironically the next week he was viewing the operation of a corn thrasher in a barn.  His hand moved too closely to the machinery and his loose sleeve and his right arm became ensnared in the cogs of the machinery.  His arm was ripped from its socket, the main artery severed. The arm was severely lacerated, the main artery was severed and the median nerve was injured.  Four days later an infection developed and due to shock and a loss of blood, he passed away on April 19, 1858.  As he was dying, his father visited him.  On his death bed, he whispered to his father, " Stand up for Jesus, father and tell my brethren of the ,ministry to stand up for Jesus."

The minister from Philadelphia's Temple Presbyterian Church was deeply stirred and wrote a poem, based on Ephesians 6:14.  The result is the 4 verse hymn (there were originally 6 verses) we have today that starts: Stand up, stand up for Jesus/Ye souldiers of the cross;/ Lift high his royal banner,/ it must not suffer loss. The editor of a Baptist periodical which gave it a wider circulation.  From there it found its way into hymnals and hearts across America.

The most familiar and popular tune was composed by George W. Webb.  The tune was originally appeared in a secular song book with the title, "'Tis Dawn, the Lark is Singing," and was used in a show on board a ship crossing the Atlantic.   There is a less familiar, though stirring tune, by Adam Giebel.  The composer,  was blind but became a skilled organist, conductor and prolific composer. He was known for his ability to arrange for male voices.

400 All Creatures of Our God and King

This inspiring expression of praise was written in 1225 and appears in nearly every modern hymnal.  The author of this text, Giovanni Bernardone,  is one of the most interesting figures in all church history. Better known as St. Francis of Assisi, he was a mystic, medieval monk who spent his lifetime as an itinerant evangelist, helping and preaching to the poor people of Italy.  In our lifetime, this humble monk has become the model and namesake for today's Pope Francis.

There are many strange incidents and legends associated with St. Francis. There were encounters with the Lord including an occasion when Francis was fasting for 40 days.  The legend has it the Francis was left with a reminder of the Lords suffering with marks on his hands, feet, and body, commonly called stigmata. Another account concerned the time after his death when his soul was being committed to the creator, a flock of larks gather about his little hut and flew into the sky singing a beautiful song in the still evening air.

This text is from a book of his writings, "Canticles of the Sun" which was written the year before his death, when his eyesight had failed him.. Saint Francis made much use of singing and believed strongly in the importance of church music.  He wrote more than 60 hymns for use in the monastery.  This beautiful expression of praise is one that has survived the passing of almost 800 years. Saint Francis is also well known as a great lover of nature and saw the hand of God in all creation.He was widely credited with writing the famous prayer, "Lord make me an instrument of Thy peace."  As wonderful as that legend is, we can't really confirm that the words came from earlier than 1912.

William Draper did the English translation for a children's choir festival sometime between 1899-1919.  The tune Lasst uns erfreun first appeared in a Romand Catholic hymnal im Cologne, Germany in 1623.  After being forgotten for a time, the tune was revived and combined with this text and first appeared in the English Hymnal published in London, England in 1906.. This YouTube version is a feast for the eyes as well as the ears and is sung by the Brigham Young University men's chours.